Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Open Carry Guy Held Up for his Gun

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man found out the hard way that carrying a gun for protection doesn't always keep you safe. In fact, it may have made him a target.

The 34-year-old man legally owned a handgun and carried it out in the open in his holster for protection.

The president of Wisconsin Carry, Nik Clark, says 100's of thousands of people open carry and he's never heard of anything like this.

"So it really is a very unusual situation, very unique," Clark said.

The victim didn't want to go on camera but said he carried the gun because he had been jumped and held up at knife point in the past. He believes, in his case, open carry made him a target and he will no longer do it.

He said his case proves gun owners should have the right to carry concealed weapons.

Clark agrees. "By and large it is a significant deterrent, open carry is, but I think it really does make the point that Wisconsin should have concealed carry along with open carry so that people who live in a very high crime neighborhood where criminals aren't deterred by firearms would have the ability to conceal carry to protect themselves. The two really work hand in hand," Clark said.

What is wrong with gun owners? How could they possibly conclude that an incident like this has anything to do with concealed carry without contradicting what they say about open carry? If I were them I'd just shut up and maybe stick to the fact that what happened is rare.

Do you get the impression that in Wisconsin, no matter what happens, whatever comes up pertaining to guns, they immediately go into the "we need concealed carry" routine?

16 comments:

Many gunloons believe that would be robbers and muggers announce their intentions from several area codes away. This, they know, will give them time to pull their weapon, hike up their trousers over their pendulous guts, assume the Doctor Gunfighter™ approved Larry Craig shooting stance and intimidate the evil-doers.

The reality is, however, you're probably not going to see your attacker until he's wearing you like a second tee shirt.

This is why most police groups oppose CCW or open carry. They understand most are going to lose both their wallets and their guns.

I do agree with Mike on one point: if this person wasn't willing to use his weapon while open carrying it--even with somebody getting the drop on him--than it wouldn't help him if it was concealed anyway.

On the rare occasions when I see a CCW permit holder in public, I usually laugh at him and make a loud remark about Viagra or the like. But in every case, I have no doubt in my mind that I could take away his gun before he ahd a chance.

BTW, Kopel was wrong--well, let's just call it a lie--more kids, ages 0-5 are killed by guns than by plastic 5 gal. buckets.

How could they possibly conclude that an incident like this has anything to do with concealed carry without contradicting what they say about open carry?

The connection between the failure of someone openly carrying a firearm to defend himself from predation, and the need for concealed carry, is perhaps a bit tenuous.

It is, on the other hand, rather less tenuous than the link between the Virginia Tech atrocity and the mythical "gun show loophole," when neither of the firearms used were purchased at a gun show--and yet attempts to exploit that atrocity for that purpose are quite common. Similarly, Mexican Presidente Felipe Calderón, in a bid, one can only hope, to be funny, tries to blame the bloody drug wars in Mexico on the expiration of the ban of so-called "assault weapons" in the U.S.

Let me be clear on your argument:Because Jadegold imagines himself stealing guns he sees in public, it must happen a lot. The reason why we don’t hear about it is because the robbery victims are ashamed as opposed to wanting the criminal caught, their valuable property back, and to absolve themselves of any crimes committed with their gun that has their fingerprints all over it and/or is registered to them. Is this your argument?

TS, The reason I figure this happens a lot is not because JadeGold gave us that humorous image of his taking a gun of someone, but just common sense. Unfortunately, for you guys who demand proof for everything before you'll even consider it, I'm afraid we're stuck. Many victims of such a crime would not report it out of embarrassment, especially since the guys who do open carry often have a certain antipathy for the cops. That's why they decide to carry in the first place, to do what the cops are incapable of doing. They certainly wouldn't want to admit to those same cops what fools they've been.

I figure this happens a lot is not because JadeGold gave us that humorous image of his taking a gun of someone

That is indeed humorous. I can see if it was a doughnut maybe, but not a gun. He just doesn't look that quick.

for you guys who demand proof for everything before you'll even consider it, I'm afraid we're stuck.

We're not stuck. You are stuck. We're not the ones making incredible claims. So far you've found one (1!) instance of this happening. Yet you act like it is so routine that open carry should be banned because of the risk to the public. You look foolish making such demands with nary a shred of evidence.

You have this ridiculous notion that people who have their guns stolen are either blasé or too embarrassed to tell the cops. This stems from you demonization of those who own guns in order to point the finger at them as being part of the problem. Being a victim is not shameful in itself (though there could be shameful acts that led up to it), and in this case we are referring to people following the letter of the law. I for one would immediately inform the police if my gun ended up in criminal hands- especially in light of the fact that it is more likely to be used in a crime. The type of people who wouldn’t call the police are the type of people who are involved in criminal activity themselves. Point your finger at them.

TS said, "You have this ridiculous notion that people who have their guns stolen are either blasé or too embarrassed to tell the cops. This stems from you demonization of those who own guns in order to point the finger at them as being part of the problem."

It would be a ridiculous notion if I said it applied to ALL people who have their guns stolen. The problem is the famous 10%.